What is Satanism?

According to the common definition, it is the worship of the fallen angel Satan by performing acts of evil. The truth of the matter is, that though there are diverse concepts of Satanism, few who call themselves such would consider the above statement to be remotely accurate.

Satanic perspectives range from those which are totally atheistic, to those which revere Satan as a god. How Satanism can exist yet not be a pursuit of "evil"- is resolved when one considers that most Satanists do not believe in evil at all, and virtually all disagree with the various JudeoChristian understandings of Satan. Those who do believe in an entity called Satan, tend to believe that the behavior and intent of the being is both noble and misinterpreted.

Satanists remain at odds with a society so suffused with JudeoChristian ideals, that their perspectives are rarely listened to with an open mind. Here is my understanding of the "Satanic Scene"

The best known figure in modern Satanism is Anton LaVey, whose Church of Satan is agnostic with regards to Satan himself, and promotes a perspective of religio-philosophic materialism. Those who look towards LaVey for inspiration, feel that Satanism is the pursuit of the passionate and intelligent qualities of life.

Another well known leader of Satanism is Michael Aquino, whose Temple of Set splintered away from LaVey's organization over philosophic differences. The Temple of Set worships a dark god who has historically manifested as both Set and Satan, and revealed a philosophy of self-improvement called "Xeper". The Setian perspective, though rich in Egyptian imagery, owes a lot to the writings of Plato, Pythagoras, and Crowley.

Outside of the United States, a fairly large number of small Satanic organizations operate- many it seems, in New Zealand. Though largely discounted by members of the first two groups, various Yoruban-Syncretic religions which formed when African slaves settled in colonial lands, have public and popular worship of Satan, whom they call Exu.

And if that were not all, many independant Satanic thinkers exist, such as Tyagi Nagasiva, and Diane Vera, with slants on Satanism quite unlike that of all of the others. One such independant is the controversial and prolific Tani Jantsang, who claims to be a generational Satanist. Her perspective revolves around Satan as an elemental force, bloodlines, and natural living.

An excellent source of information on Satanism is the Alt.Satanism FAQ v2.3, currently maintained by Lupo LeBoucher. Despite mutual and public antipathy between him and some members of the Setian priesthood, his document is probably the definitive overview of Satanism online and offline.

Follows are various articles which are by, about, or can be linked to the interests of many Satanists.